Piano-action.



J. W. DARLEY, JR.

PIANO ACTION.

nymouxon FILED SEPT. 5, 1905. 1,097,083.

94400, Quorum I Patented May 19 1914.

2 SHBETfl-BHEET 1 & TAT L i N M w ad wewto W. -fi'g COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH Cm WAIflNO'ION. C-

v J. W. DARLEY, IR.-

PIANO ACTION.

APPLICATION IILED SEPT. 5, 1905.

1,097,083. a Patented May1 9,1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

COLUMBIA PLAHoqRAFH $0.,WASNINGTON D c lmmmf ,Y I

JOHN W. DARLEY, JR, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

PIANO-ACTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1% 1914.

Application filed September 5, 1905. Serial No. 277,026.

To all whomit may (on/01w:

Be it known that l, JOHN V. DARLEY, J12. a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore city, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Piano-Actions; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in piano actions, and especially to thatrlass of actions for use in square or grand planos.

The object of the present improvement 1s to produce a repetition action which will enable the operator to sound the same note repeatedly in rapid succession, and will at the same time preserve that quality known as the touch which is very essential for the satisfaction of the performer.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar letters of reference designate similar parts in the several views; Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a piano action constructed in accordance with my invention, the rails supportlng the several parts of the action being SllOWIhlIl section, and the frame supporting the said ra ls being omitted for the sake of clearness in illustration. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, the key and base board being shown in section taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the parts in the position they assume after the key has been struck and while it is still. held down, the position of the hammer in striking the wire being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the spring E which is shown in side elevation in Figs. 1 and Fig. 4. is a plan or the pivot block for the hammers. Fig. 5 1s a. central longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 6 is an end view showing the hammer stem in section, the supporting spring and the flexible connection between them.

The rails A and B which support the several parts of the action are supported above a base board C by any suitable frames, which are not shown, and the keys I) are fulcrumed upon the base board 0 in the usual manner as at c, the rear ends of the stud keys extending beneath the rail A.

The various parts of the piano actlonare faced with felt, or other suitable material, whenever they are likely to be struck by any of the moving parts, and all centers are hushed with cloth in the usual well-known manner, the effect of the whole being to prevent rattling and to deaden all sound except of the strings which have been struck.

To the rails Aare'secured by screws a a series of pivot blocks A, to which are pivoted as at e the jack levers E. These jack levers extend forwardly and have pivoted near their forward ends, as at f, the jacksF.

A series of pivot blocks B are secured on the top of the rail B, and to the rear ends of these blocks B are pivoted as at 7). the hammer butts Galiaving the stems G which carry at their rear ends the hammers G The hammer butts G have downwardly projecting knuckles g which are each provided with a padded recess 9, and rest upon vertical arms f of the jacks F, as shown in Fig. 1.

The pivot blocks B as shown in Figs. 4: and 5 are bored to receive a cushion or pad 6 upon which the enlarged end b of the spring 5 rests,'a screw 5 passes through the enlarged end of this spring and through the cushion 6 into the block B. The base of the spring 6 next to the enlarged end b rests upon the raised portion 6 of the block B, which portion 6 acts as a fulcrum and when the screw 72 is screwed down it will tend to depress the enlarged end upon thecushion and raise the free end, thus increasing the tension of the spring. The spring 3 is padded at its free end to receive the connection from the hammer butt.

The jack levers E have repetition springs E secured to their rear ends by screws 6 which pass through the springs and through cushions e placed between the springs and the jack levers, so that the screws will be free to force the portions of the springs E under the heads of said screws toward the jack levers E, or to allow said portionsto move away from said jack levers the elasticity of the felt washer 6 serving to produce a pressure between said springs E and the heads of the screws 0 which prevents rattling, and since the rear ends ofsaid springs rest upon upward extensions of the levers E, it is evident that by tightening or loosening the said screws thepull of the-said springs on the connection f may be increased or decreased. These springs are also padded at their free ends to receive the connections f The jack F is provided with a rearwardly extending arm y, the rear end of which is connected to the repetition spring E by a flexible connection the said spring tending to pull the jack rearwardly. A padded stop f is secured to a screw f which passes through the arm f and is flattened at its outer end to facilitate turning, so that the said stop can be readily adjusted to cause the arm f of the jack to rest normally beneath the knuckle g on the hammer butt G when the said stop rests upon the jack lever E, as shown in Fig. 1. The said stop 7, screw f arms f and such other part of the jack F as is to the left of a line drawn through f, perpendicular to the line joining e and f, (as shown in Fig. 3), are together of such a Weight that their inertia will produce sufficient resistance to counterbalance or overbalance the resistance produced by the other parts of the jack F lying to the right of said line when the jack F is moved by the jack lever E at the beginning of key motion. If the resistance due to the inertia of the parts of the jack F to the right of the line drawn through 7 perpendicular to the line joining e and j were not counterbalanced or overbalanced by the resistance due to the inertia of the parts of the jack F to the left of said line it would follow that when a swift blow is struck on the key the jack top would not follow the abutting portion of the hammer knuckle during the direct drive. Now it is evident that the parts F, f and f are closer to the center of motion 0 than the other parts of the jack F, hence the former parts have a less rate of change of speed than the latter parts, and must be made sufficiently heavier, so that the resistance to mot-ion due to their inertia will approximately balance the resistance to motion due to the inertia of the latter parts. When the jack F is at rest it is not balanced, the parts f f and f being heavier than the remaining parts, but when the jack is directly driving the hammer it is balanced on the pivot f with reference to the line of thrust through said pivot, that is the resistances to motion of the va rious parts of the jack are approximately balanced during the direct drive. It will be noted that the top of the jack is slightly curved as at 3 and tapers slightly as at 5, the two portions forming a continuous cam surface, this shape being adopted for the following reasons: I find that very little spring tension is required to keep the jack in position, as shown in Fig. 1, or to return it to that position if it be not displaced more than the distance from the line 1-1 to the intersection of the curve 3 and top of jack, because the spring merely has to overcome the sliding friction between the hammer knuckle g and the top f of the jack; while if it be displaced more than that, a greater effect from the spring E is required; hence I use a spring E which has but slight initial tension and proportion its size and the movement of the end of same connected to the loop f so that its effect on the jack F shall rapidly increase as the jack is displaced as in Fig. 3; but as this increase of effect of the spring E is not sufliciently rapid at the beginning I form the curve 3 near the jack top to increase the movement of the jack and so increase the ratio of the movement of the spring relative to the movement of the hammer butt G, which ratio of movement is decreased should the hammer butt- G move still farther downward from the positions shown in Fig. 3 and bear upon the incline 5, the front end of the key being held down. It will be seen that the curved face 3 acts on the principle of the inclined plane, so that a small downward movement of the hammer butt will cause a larger relative movement of the ack, than if the face of the jack were parallel to the line 11 in Fig. 1, and not curved, and the incline 5 will cause a smaller relative movement.

Near the end of the key D a stem (Z projects upwardly and rearwardly having a back check D upon its upper end, this back check is padded, and in such position that when the rear end of the key rises, the tail piece on the hammer G will strike and be held from movement by the said check.

A spring I) having a padded end 6 is secured to the block B on the rail D and extends over the hammer butt G to which it is connected by the flexible connection 9 This spring serves to relieve the rear end of the key of a portion of the weight of the hammer, making it unnecessary to weight the front end of the keys to the same extent as is usually done, thus making the keys easier to the touch, as the fingers do not have to overcome the inertia of the weight before the keys can be pressed down. These springs 7) are so arranged that they will support about as much of the weight of the hammer, as the lead balancing heretofore used in the front ends of the keys compensated for, the spring Z)" being so proportioned that this effect of same will-but slightly increase as the hammer moves away from the string.

H designates the rest rail fitted to the frame in any suitable manner and padded as at 72,.

(Z represents screws, one end of which 1s attached to each key near the front end tion in Fig. 1, the rear end of the key being r shown in its lowest position, the jack lever E resting on the screw (Z in the key, and the knuckle g on the hammer butt G resting 011 the upper end of the arm f of the jack F, and the back check being out of engagement with the hammer G or its tail piece 9 Then the front end of the key is pressed down, its rear end rises, the screw (Z pushing the forward end of the jack lever E upwardly, and causing the jack to impinge against the knuckle 011 the hammer butt and throw the hammer upwardly against the string X, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. As the jack nears the upper end of its stroke, the arm f will strike the stop 5 causing the jack to tilt forwardly against the tension of the repetition spring E, causing the arm 7", of the jack to pass from under the knuckle g of the hammer butt, allowing the hammer to rebound freely from the string, the end of the arm f passing into the padded recess g in the hammer butt. When the hammer rebounds, the tail piece thereof will be caught by the back check D, which will hold the hammer from further movement, the parts then being in the position. shown in Fig. 3. Then the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 8, they are as they would be following a light blow, but after a heavy blow, the hammer would be lower down and f would be off of 6 As soon as the key is released, and the rear end begins to fall, the repetition spring E will pull the jack back beneath the knuckle g,

ready to make another stroke, even though,

the parts have not returned to the position shown in Fig. 1.

The herein described action causes the hammer to respond very promptly to every stroke of the key, even though the latter be struck very rapidly.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In an action for grand pianos, the combination of a hammer butt having a knuckle, said knuckle being provided with a recess on its lower face, a hammer carried by said hammer butt, a jack lever, a jack pivotally mounted upon said jack lever, said jack having a rearwaidly-extending arm, an adjustable stop carried by said rearwardly-extending arm, a forwardly-extending arm, a. spring carried by said jack lever and connected to said rearwardly-extending arm, said spring being adapted to normally retain the upper end of said jack beneath one of the projecting portions of said knuckle, and a stop adapted to be engaged by said forwardly-extending arm, when the key is struck, to deflect the end of said jack into said recess, substantially as described.

2. In an action for grand pianos, the combination of a hammer butt having a knuckle provided with a recess on its lower face, a

hammer carried by said hammer butt, a jack lever, a jack pivotally mounted upon said jack lever, a rearwardly-extending arm upon said jack, an adjustable stop carried by said rearwardly-extending arm, a forwardly-extending arm, a spring carried by said jack lever and connected to said rearwardly-extending arm, means for adjusting the tension of said spring, said spring being adapted to normally retain the upper end of said jack beneath the rearward projection of said knuckle, and a stop adapted to be engaged by said forwardly-extending arm when the key is struck to deflect the end of the jack into said recess, substantially as described.

3. In an action for grand pianos, the combination of a supporting rail, a hammer butt carrying a hammer and pivotally mounted on said rail, a knuckle secured to said hammer butt, said knuckle being provided with a recess on its lower face, a jack lever, a jack pivotally mounted on said jack lever, a rearwardly-extending arm on said jack, an adjustable stop carried thereby, a spring carried by said jack lever and adapted to cause said stop to normally rest against said jack lever and to cause the top of said jack to rest under the rearward projection of said knuckle, a forwardly-extending arm upon said jack, and a stopadapted to be engaged by said forwardly-extending arm when the key is struck to deflect the top of said jack into said recess, substantially as described.

4. In an action for grand pianos, the combination with a hammer butt and hammer carried thereby, a knuckle secured to said hammer and provided with two projections and a recess between them upon its lower face, a pivot block upon which said hammer butt is p-ivotally mounted, a spring mounted on said pivot block and flexibly connected to said hammer butt to partially counteract the effect of gravity upon said hammer butt and hammer, a jack lever, a jack pivotally mounted thereon, said jack being provided with a curved nose on its upper end, a rearwardly-extending arm upon said jack, an adjustable stop carried by said arm, a spring carried by said jack lever and connected to said arm to normally retain said stop in engagement with said jack lever and to retain the top of said jack in engagement with the rearward projection of said. knuckle, a forwardly-extending arm upon said jack, and a stop adapted to engage said arm when a key is struck to deflect said jack into the recess in the hammer butt, substan tially as described.

5. In an action for grand pianos, the combination of a hammer butt having a knuckle 9 having projections and a recess 9 between said projections on the lower face of said knuckle, a hammer carried by said hammer butt, a jack lever, a jack pivotally mounted on said jack lever and having oppositelyextending arms, a repetition spring adjustably mounted on said jack lever and connected with one of the arms on the ack and tending to hold said jack beneath the rearward projection of the knuckle g of the hammer butt, and an adjustable stop 6 in the path of the other arm of the jack to deflect said jack into said recess 9, near the end of the upward stroke of the key, substantially as described.

6. In an action for grand pianos, the combination with a pivot block, and a cushion inserted in said pivot block, said pivot block being provided with a projecting portion, of a spring resting upon said cushion and upon said projecting portion of said pivot block, a pad on the free end of said spring, a screw holding said spring down upon said cushion, a hammer pivoted in said pivot block, and a flexible connection between said hammer and the free end of the spring, said projecting portion on said pivot block serving as a fulcrum for said spring, substantially as described.

7. In an action for grand pianos, a jack having a curved upper corner, and the side adjacent to said corner cut away so as to form an incline, oppositely-extending arms, one of said arms being enlarged to form a weight, and an adjustable stop on said weighted arm, the weight of said stop and arm being so proportioned that their resistance to motion during the direct drive of the jack will approximately balance the resistance to motion of the remaining parts of the jack, substantially as described.-

8. In an action for grand pianos, the combination of a supporting rail, a hammer butt having a knuckle, a hammer carried by said hammer butt, a jack lever, a jack pivotally mounted on. said jack lever and having oppositely-extending arms, one of which is weighted, a repetition spring on said jack lever connected with the weighted arm of the jack, an adjustable stop on said weighted arm to limit the rearward movement of the jack, said spring and stop tending to keep the jack beneath the rearward part of the knuckle on the hammer butt, a rail by which said hammer butt is supported, and an adjustable stop carried by said rail and located in the path of the forwardly-extending arm of the jack to deflect said jack near the end of its upward movement, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

.ioHN w. DARLEY, JR.

\Vit-nesses CHARLES It. Bonrrrenn, IVTLLIAM RYAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

